Ride refurbishments are a fact of life at Disneyland. Ditto downtime and delays, which are unplanned and unannounced. This covers the latest closure calendar updates, which suggests there’s going to be an (unsurprising) uptick in the number of temporary attraction closures very soon.
The good news is that, as reflected in recent updates to the 2026 Disneyland Refurbishment Calendar, there really aren’t many major refurbishments happening right now. The heart of the holiday season is the busiest stretch of the year at Disneyland and DCA, so Disney tries to minimize ride closures during these peak Christmas dates.
The bad news is that winter is historically ‘refurbishment season’ at Disneyland, something that’s been true for decades based on longstanding attendance dynamics. We’re now seeing the first–likely of many–closures calendered for the first few months of 2026…
Winter being refurbishment season at Disneyland is not a new development. (Hence “historically.”) If anything, this has become less pronounced over the years; I can remember a decade ago when there were roughly a dozen attraction closures during the first few months of the year.
Although there were a ton of ride closures last winter, that was largely to have the parks looking their best before Disneyland’s 70th Anniversary started. Still, it does feel somewhat antiquated that winter is still refurbishment season at Disneyland.
The first few months prior Spring Break are not the sleepy off-season that they once were. To the contrary, they’ve gotten progressively busier for a variety of reasons. It’s now June through September that are, statistically speaking, the 4 slowest months of the year.
This is almost certainly going to be true again in Winter 2026. Disney has released its best Disneyland ticket deal in over a decade, which drops the per day cost of a Park Hopper to $68 or less. This is already proving wildly popular, and it’s our strong expectation that there will be an across-the-board spike in crowds in Winter and Spring 2026 as a result.
Against that backdrop, let’s run through the refurbishments that have recently been scheduled at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in early 2026…
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Refurbishment
The big news is that the top-rated Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attraction at Disneyland will be temporarily closing this winter for routine maintenance. The Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance refurbishment will start on January 20, 2026.
This was picked up by a recent calendar update, meaning Disneyland has not yet announced a reopening date or any other specifics about the closure of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. It is noteworthy that the refurbishment starts right after the busy Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend ends.
In all likelihood, the target is to reopen Rise of the Resistance before Presidents’ Day weekend. We’ve listed February 13-23, 2026 as one of the 10 Worst Weeks at Disneyland in 2026, which is due to Presidents’ Day/Mid-Winter Break/Ski Week/Mardi Gras.
Between this normal winter break for many California school districts and the aggressive ticket deal, that could be one of the worst 5 weeks of the year. Disneyland will do everything possible to have Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance reopen on or before February 13, 2026 as a result.
We’re pleased to see Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance getting some TLC. The ride has a rocky record since its opening in early 2020, but uptime has generally improved over the last few years. Part of the reason for that is ordinary–just generally getting the new attraction firing on all cylinders.
Another part is that Disney has had a greater willingness to operate the attraction without all of its effects working. While I’ve had perfect runs on Rise of the Resistance this year at Disneyland, they’re less common than when the ride first opened. But that’s the tradeoff Disney has chosen to make, believing guests would prefer the ride at ~90% than not at all.
Speaking of broken effects and getting the attraction firing on all cylinders, earlier this year, Disneyland restored the moving cannon effect that had been broken for ~3 years. It’s great to have this effect back, but it still does get disabled from time to time (I’m probably about 50/50 on seeing it this year.) Suffice to say, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is a complex attraction with a lot of moving parts, and will benefit tremendously from some TLC.
However, it’s also a gut-punch for guests planning a visit in late January through the first half of February 2026. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is our #1 ride in all of Disneyland Resort on our List Ranking All 68 Attractions at Disneyland & California Adventure.
We aren’t the only ones who love Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. It’s one of the most popular attractions in all of Disneyland, with wait times and Lightning Lane Single Pass sales to prove it.
Our expectation is that the downtime of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will have a similar impact on Disneyland attendance as did the Radiator Springs Racers closure this past fall, which caused many guests to avoid the park as a result. This isn’t to say Disneyland will be dead this winter (far from it), but the lack of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance will cause at least some guests to modify their visit dates.
Holiday Overlay Removals
Haunted Mansion is another recently-added attraction to the calendar, with a closure starting January 12, 2026.
This is an annual closure, with the downtime necessary to remove the seasonal overlay and convert the attraction from Haunted Mansion Holiday back to the normal version. This typically takes roughly two weeks, so you can expect Haunted Mansion to reopen towards the end of January 2026.
Disneyland has not yet announced a reopening date, but it’s safe to assume it’ll be after January 21, 2026 based on the current calendar. This means it’ll coincide in part with the aforementioned Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance refurbishment. Definitely a big blow to have two of the park’s best rides down simultaneously.
Once Haunted Mansion reopens, we’d expect “it’s a small world” to close. It’s possible there will also be overlap here, but we doubt it. They are usually staggered, and with Rise of the Resistance also down, it’s unlikely Disneyland will want another iconic closure at the same time.
This is another holiday overlay removal, and it usually takes 10-14 days to accomplish, meaning both “it’s a small world” and Haunted Mansion should be back up and running by early February 2026–long before Presidents’ Day/Ski Week.
Also at Disneyland, the Mark Twain Riverboat will be down for ordinary maintenance January 12-15, 2026.
Pixar Pier Closures
Over at Disney California Adventure, there are a handful of notable closures in Pixar Pier. The first of these is the popular Lamplight Lounge, which closes starting January 12, 2026.
The restaurant is officially slated to reopen January 16, 2026. However, Advance Dining Reservations are blocked out through January 20, 2026. It’s possible this is just a block or buffer on ADR availability in the event that the project needs to be extended. Disneyland hasn’t officially announced details of this closure–it’s all via the operational calendar.
We recently dined at Lamplight Lounge and were disappointed by the extent to which the menu had been scaled back. Our food was still good, but it’s absurd to have only 4 regular entrees. This used to be one of the very best restaurants in all of Disneyland, but it’s gone downhill in the last couple of years. Hopefully the refurbishment brings with it a new or expanded menu.
Also on Pixar Pier, there are a couple of ride closures. Both Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind and Incredicoaster will be down for refurbishment starting on January 5, 2026. These two rides are closed through at least January 21, 2026 based on the current calendar.
Emotional Whirlwind and Incredicoaster are maintenance-intensive attractions that receive routine refurbishments with regularity, so this isn’t a huge surprise. We’d expect both to reopen in February 2026; hopefully long before Presidents’ Day/Ski Week.
Finally, there’s the also routine refurbishment of Grizzly River Run starting January 5, 2026. This happens annually without fail, and is equal parts refurbishment and taking the ‘you will get wet/you may get soaked’ attraction offline during the coldest months of the year when demand is lowest. Typically, Grizzly River Run reopens by Spring Break, although that could change if the weather forecast is unseasonably warm by Presidents’ Day.
Don’t be surprised if there are more refurbishments added to the calendar for January through March 2026. Disneyland will do everything in its power to have headliners online for peak weeks around MLK Day, Presidents’ Day, and Spring Break–but there will be some closures even during those busier weeks, and plenty more during the “slower” times.
Our hope is that Disney doesn’t schedule a whole lot more for Winter or Spring 2026. These are now among the busiest months of the year, so it makes much more sense to schedule downtime during the summer. That should be doubly true in early 2026 due to that incredibly aggressive ticket deal. We wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if this winter is far busier than normal.
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance ride refurbishment? Thoughts on winter still being refurbishment season at Disneyland? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!